This is a statement to all members of VBOA affiliated clubs on current debts of VBOA.
As you may be aware from your club representatives there is currently a debt of £6998.96 owed to
members of the VBOA committee, volunteers who assisted with organisation of the 2019 and 2021
rallies and suppliers.
You will have seen a just giving page has been set up seeking to recoup some of this money and also
there is an Extraordinary General Meeting that has been arranged for later in November where
options for repaying this debt will be discussed.
It is important that you as members of affiliated clubs understand how this debt has occurred and
what it consists of.

• In 2016 the management of Billing Aquadrome gave notice to the VBOA that they were changing the direction of the site and that they were no longer going to be hosting or holding car shows on site of the size of the VBOA National Rally.
• The VBOA committee entered into a partnership with Steve and Mick Crook for the show to be hosted at Market Harborough Showground and this happened in 2017 and 2018.
• Club representatives expressed their opinion that this venue was not suitable for the show and therefore the committee sought alternative solutions.
• There was an option to go back to Billing in 2019, there were two options for the arrangement with Billing that relied on up front funding from the VBOA, clubs were split evenly between the two options and there were opinions expressed that returning the show to Billing would result in reduced numbers and a number of clubs withdrawing from the national rally.
• The VBOA Committee and event subcommittee therefore sought alternative venues and they decided that the show should be moved to Sywell Aerodrome..
• Because Sywell Aerodrome does not have the infrastructure in place to put the VBOA rally on, all elements of the show have to be hired in for the rally weekend. The cost of this in 2019 was £41998.57 and in 2021 it was £40309.45.
• The model that the VBOA runs for the rally is that there is some prebooking and some takings on the gate. Because of this model, members of the organising committee paid for elements of the show up front with a view that they would recover these funds through the on the gate ticket sales.
• The debt has accrued as a result of lower than predicted takings from the shows in both 2019 and 2021. The money was lent in good faith by members of the organising committee in order to ensure that the VBOA rally could go ahead for all members of affiliated clubs to enjoy.
• If there are to be future rallies then this debt will need to be cleared prior to a rally being organised, affiliated clubs have been asked to talk to their committees and their members and bring forward plans for clearing the debt to fellow club members.
• In order to plan future rallies there will also need to be a process for de risking these, this may involve a change in venue, a levy on the membership of affiliated clubs, increases in the pricing and sponsorship being sought.
• It is vital that all of us as members of affiliated clubs recognise that the debts that have been accrued are there because of putting on the national rally, these debts are not expenses or for time employed by committee members or others, these are cash loans to ensure that the rally has been a success both in 2019 and 2021.

We have setup a donation page to assist with clearing the debt to the members of the organising committee